A How-To Guide To Preparing Your Home For A Door Replacement

Whether it’s for security purposes or improving your property’s aesthetics, replacing your door isn’t easy. They’re not just plug-and-play devices that allow you to continue your day with ease as if nothing ever happened. Therefore, you must take the necessary steps to prepare for a home door replacement project.

If you’re planning to hire reputable companies offering door installation in Fairfax station or your local area, you must prepare well for a smooth and quick transition. While it might seem minor, you’d be surprised by how it can benefit the entire project and guarantee its success.

To help you out, below are some how-to guides to preparing your home for a door replacement:

Confirm If You Need A Permit

Replacing your front door is different from your interiors. Since they’re outside your home, everyone can see if you’re replacing one. This can cause an alarm for the authorities, especially if your municipality requires a special permit before you do any exterior renovations to your home. To avoid legal inconveniences, you should confirm with your town if you need a permit to replace your door or if you have the complete freedom to do so.  

Alternatively, if you’re living with a homeowner’s association, you should still confirm with them if there are specific guidelines you need to follow for your front door’s style and design. Some communities have strict rules about how the whole place should look from the outside, even with a simple change, like door replacement.  

Provide A Clear Path

While your door should have a clear path on the inside and outside of the wall, providing a clear space for the installers to work in would be beneficial. If you have any nearby furniture, which could affect their movements, such as pots or tables, you should move them away from the area. Ideally, you should create a clear space for at least three feet both inside and outside of your door side.  

Aside from providing a clear path for your door’s placement, consider how the installers will bring them to your place. If you’re replacing your interior doors, you should create a clear path inside your home that allows at least two people to bring a door from outside to the inside. Remove every piece of furniture, which can limit their movements, and fix any loose cables, cords, and small items that may cause an accident.  

Protect Your Furniture

Door replacement can get very messy. This can affect your furniture as you expect dust to get all over the place. To make cleaning easier after the door installation, you should protect your furniture by placing them on the other side of the wall and covering them entirely with a dust sheet. This should help keep them from dust and allow for easier cleanup. 

If the door installation will take you quite a few days, as you’re planning to replace every door, or you’re installing a complicated one, such as double exterior French doors, it might be worthwhile to rent a temporary storage space to place your furniture with. This allows you to live in a comfortable home without pushing everything against the wall. 

Remove Wall And Small Pieces

Removing and installing a new door will involve some drill work on your walls. With this, you can expect a minor vibration on your walls, which might cause some of your hanging decorations to move or, worse, fall off the ground.

To avoid damaging your wall decorations, remove every piece and place them on a safe and stable surface. You can bring them back once the project is complete. If you have small items sitting on your hanging shelves, it’d be best if you could remove them as well, especially since they’re not permanently attached to your walls.

If you installed blinds or curtains by your door, now’s the perfect time to remove them. This will allow for an easier and quicker door installation. Alternatively, you can ask the installation company if they can remove them for you.

Prepare The Installers’ Workstation

Even with a set size for your doors, your installers need a workstation to prepare your door properly. To keep them comfortable and provide convenience, you should prepare a workstation they can work in. You can use your driveway or backyard to give them enough space for your workstation. If you have a large table or workbench you can bring out to stand as their workstation desk, the better help it’d be. While this isn’t necessary, it’ll help your installers to move more comfortably.

Turn Off Your Alarm System

The last thing you’d want to happen is to unintentionally alert the authorities of a home invasion from your alarm system. This can cause inconvenience and annoyance to your neighbors as the alarm would go off with loud noises. To avoid this unimaginable scenario, ensure you turn off your alarm system beforehand. 

After completing your door replacement project, be sure to have your home security system updated and reinstalled. This way, they can include your new door in the system and keep your house protection intact.

Provide Easy Access To Power

Your installers will need a steady power supply to complete the project. With that, you should ensure a clear path to where your installers can plug in their tools and let them use them easily. If you don’t have any nearby outlet, provide an extension cord that can accommodate high volts of power to avoid any electrical problems in the future.

Keep Pets And Children Away

Door installation can get messy and dangerous, especially with kids and pets around. With the power tools your installers bring to your home, they might call for an accident once your pets or children get involved with it. To keep a safe space, you should keep your pets and children away from the scene. 

You can lock up your pets in their cage if you have one or place them in a different room to prevent them from running around. You should also bring your children to a separate room or bring them to a trusted relative or friend’s house for a quick babysitting.

Takeaway

There are plenty of things you need to do to prepare your home for a door replacement. While some might feel excessive, they can help guarantee your home’s safety, the people around you, and your other valuables. With a bit of added effort, you should allow your installers to move swiftly and experience a more successful door installation project.